Overview

Fireblocks allows you to utilize crypto for fast, reliable, and predictable payments. With the Payments feature, you can send and receive crypto payments with the security of the Fireblocks infrastructure.

Using the Fireblocks Console or the Fireblocks API, you can transfer funds across borders, settle merchant accounts, build custom payment flows for your unique scenarios, and execute any other type of payment transaction. Regardless of the use case, Fireblocks provides tools for managing secure payments at every step in the process.

You can use any cryptocurrency in your payments as long as they are supported by the provider platforms being used. You can also use any network to send and receive payments. Fireblocks recommends using networks with faster transaction times and cheaper gas fees.

To keep your transactions secure, you can set up Transaction Authorization Policy (TAP) rules to govern payments made in your workspace. Payment transactions also use other Fireblocks security features, such as MPC signing and integrated AML screening.

Managing payments in the Fireblocks Console

You can configure and execute payments directly on the Payments page. First, create a payment flow. Payment flows define the basic details of a payment transaction, such as the type of transaction and the currencies involved. Payment flows act as templates for your payments and can be used as many times as you need. You can name each payment flow for easier identification.

There are three types of payment flows:

• Cross-border: This type of payment flow allows you to exchange international currencies.
• Merchant settlement: This type of payment flow allows you to pay multiple merchants in a single operation.
• Custom: This type of payment flow allows you to configure custom payment transactions for any use case or more complex operations.

Once created, your payment flows appear on the right side of the Payments page. You can edit existing payment flows as needed. Then, you can use your payment flows to execute specific payments with more defined details.

You can also monitor your executed payments using the Fireblocks Console. Data about your current and past payments, such as the total amount of payments made and the asset allocation of your payments, appears at the top of the Payments page. Your historical and in-progress payments are also listed here. You can also find the details of your processed payments in your Transaction History.

Types of payment actions

Payment flows consist of unique actions that can be ordered and customized for your specific use case. There are three payment actions you can use when creating your payment flow.

Convert

This action converts an asset into a different asset in a specific exchange or fiat account. Typically, you convert one token into another token, such as ETH to USDC. You can also convert to or from a fiat currency. When creating this action, you must choose a crypto exchange to complete the conversion.

Please note that conversions differ from token swaps. Conversions are executed on a centralized exchange while token swaps occur on a decentralized exchange via contract calls.

After you initiate a conversion from the Fireblocks Console, the provider completes your conversion using one of the following methods.

• Order book: In this method, Fireblocks calculates the price based on the liquidity and the exchange’s order book state. Then, we execute a limit Fill-or-Kill order type.
• Quote-based: In this method, Fireblocks requests a quote based on the assets and amounts in your conversion. Then, we execute the order based on the best available price. If the liquidity provider fails to execute the order within the quote’s limited timeframe, Fireblocks will re-execute the order.

Slippage tolerance

When creating and executing payments, you can define a slippage tolerance for your conversions. Slippage is the difference between the estimated amount you will receive from the exchange on the preview view and the actual amount is the amount you receive when executing the conversion, since there may be some time difference between previewing and executing the payment flow For example, a slippage of 5% when converting tokens results in up to 5% less tokens than what was estimated. If the difference between the estimated amount and the actual amount is higher than 5% the transaction will fail.

Transfer

This action sends your assets to a different address, such as a vault account, exchange account, or fiat account. You can also use this action to send funds to a one-time address if you have the One-Time Address feature enabled.

Disburse

This action sends funds to one or more destinations and is commonly used when making payments to vendors. When creating this action, you must create an instruction set that defines the recipients, the amounts, and the assets to send.

Managing payments using the Fireblocks API

You can also use the Fireblocks API to create payment flows and execute specific payments. Learn more on our Developer Portal.